Encounters with God are intended for more than you!

Kris Vallotton poses the question …. “Did you know that your encounters with God were intended for more than just you?”

He goes on to say … within our Bethel community, when we talk about “God encounters” or “encountering the Holy Spirit,” it’s often to describe the transformative experiences believers have with the Lord. Yet, sometimes, we’ve limited these encounters to physical manifestations, overlooking the profound internal work He accomplishes within us.

For years, I grappled with whether I was genuinely encountering God or not. I observed others around me experiencing the Lord through what appeared to be powerful, physical encounters—falling down, being slain in the Spirit, and rolling over in uncontrollable laughter. However, my experiences with God didn’t manifest in this way. There were no physical sensations or overwhelming emotions. Yet, the truth is, I’ve encountered God ever since my salvation; He has met and ministered to me in ways that transcend physical manifestations of His grace. And I assure you, the same holds true for you!

If you’ve given your life to Jesus and been transformed by His grace, you are living under an open Heaven, crafted for the Presence of God. He is eager to encounter you! Moreover, a beautiful consequence of encountering God is becoming a conduit for others to meet Him as well.

Overcoming a poverty mindset

Blog by Steve Backlund 05.02.2024

The “poverty mindset” (or poverty spirit) is rooted in the victim mindset and focuses on:
1. What we don’t have
2. Our apparent inability to be blessed
3. Other people as the source to meet our needs
4. The reasons we are at a disadvantage in life

I remember reading in the 1990’s Harold Eberle’s Developing a Prosperous Soul, I was surprised at how much of a poverty spirit was embedded in me. During that season, the Lord was taking me from a lack mentality to an abundance mentality. I realized that there was no way I could fulfill the Great Commission in Matthew 28 (of going into all the world) if I was lacking in energy, health, wisdom, finances, favor, protection, love, spiritual gifts, or power.

Psalm 23:1 says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not lack.” In John 10:10, Jesus says, “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I have come to give life and life abundantly.” These are strong verses to help convince us to embrace an abundance mindset, but today, I want to discuss this poverty mindset that plagues so many of God’s people.

In 2 Kings 4:1-7, there is a story of a widow who was in debt. The creditors were coming to take her sons to pay off the debt. The prophet Elisha asked the widow, “What do you have?” She said, “Nothing, but a little oil.” As she was in Elisha’s presence, her thinking started to change.

One of the purposes of prophetic ministry is to move us from a poverty mindset to an abundance mindset. It helps us take our eyes off what we think we don’t have to see what we actually do have. It happened to the widow. God supernaturally blessed what she had. It paid off the debt and she lived off of the rest. I believe it will happen to you too.

In order to move past the poverty spirit, it will be helpful to identify how it manifests in our lives. Continue reading “Overcoming a poverty mindset”

TENACIOUS HUNGER FOR GOD

A thought from Ps Randy Clark

I want to share with you a powerful story that impacted me when I first heard it. It is about tenacious hunger for God. 

In the early days of my time within the Vineyard, I remember an afternoon when John Wimber called for me to meet with him in his office. I remember walking in, only to see John leaning back in his chair with a giant smile on his face. I sat across from him, as he looked at me and said, “Randy, who is the most anointed person in all of the Vineyard when it comes to words of knowledge and healing?” I thought for a moment, and responded “Well John, besides yourself, it would be Blaine Cook.” John looked at me and said “Randy, let me tell you something about Blaine.”

He then began to recall to me a dream that the Lord had given him several years earlier. In summary, the dream was about a powerful outbreak of the Spirit that would sweep the Vineyard as a whole, as the church went to the streets and began ministering to the sick. John continued from there to tell me about inviting Blaine into his office and sharing the dream with him. I should also mention, at the time of this dream occurring, Blaine Cook was not someone with a reputation for being used in healing.

However, once John shared this dream, Blaine became ecstatic. Overwhelmed with a desire to see this move of God, he stood up from the desk, and began asking when they would start going out to minister to people in this way. “Whoah! Slow down! It’s not time for that just yet. The people aren’t quite ready,” John said to him. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do!” But Blaine disagreed. The attitude that Blaine held was one of tenacity. Even though he was not seeing a lot of healing yet, he began to ask John to pray for him, so that God would release an anointing for him to go and see people set free according to the dream. Continue reading “TENACIOUS HUNGER FOR GOD”